NOAA at FAMU’s Environment School: Expanding the Sciences

The school was awarded $11.9 million by the Educational Partnership Program with Minority Serving Institutions

Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University (FMAU) closed its campus doors last week in an attempt to keep students safe during Hurricane Irma.

According to the university website, events that were scheduled to take place from September 11-15 were cancelled. Before the storm, the Florida A&M University EnergyWaterFoodNexus International Summit in was scheduled for September 20-22 in Orlando.

The EnergyWaterFoodNexus provides sustainable solutions for the security of energy, water, and food. In 2015, the inaugural International Summit connected with policymakers, next-generation scholars, innovators, and corporations working within the food and water sectors.

The Environmental Sciences Institute, established in 1995, became the School of the Environment in 2011. The FAMU School of the Environment offers a wide range of services to students, private sector companies, communities, government agencies, and other organizations. Thanks to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Environmental Cooperative Science Center, the number of scientists from under-represented groups has increased greatly.

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Graduates at the FAMU School of the Environment have a 100% placement rate, which is almost unheard of. On August 29, 2016, the institution was awarded $11.9 million by the Educational Partnership Program with Minority Serving Institutions, part of the NOAA Office of Education.

These institutions, along with 24 other schools, came together to establish the Cooperative Science Centers, which has created new opportunities for underrepresented populations to be introduced to the field and work with NOAA to solve real world problems.